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NASA and Boeing official labor back against late coverage that the two astronauts bring in to the ISS on Starliner are stranded on board . The company read in a mechanical press league Friday that they are using “ the sumptuousness of metre ” to learn as much about the capsule as possible before it rejoin to Earth .
The two astronaut will be there for a few more weeks while the troupe and NASA perform more mental testing from the undercoat — meaning yet another extension to their stoppage , though officials declined to provide a new target escort for their return .
“ I want to make it real well-defined that we ’re not in any rush to come home , ” Steve Stich , NASA ’s commercial crew program manager , enunciate during the press conference . “ The post is a skillful , safe place to discontinue and take our time to mold through the fomite and check that we ’re ready to get along home . ”
In the meanwhile , engineers from Boeing and NASA will channelize to New Mexico ’s White Sands Test Facility to conduct a series of remote test on the ballistic capsule ’s thrusters . There are 28 thrusters on Starliner , responsible for making arcminute changes to the spacecraft ’s movements in orbit , and they ’re vital for safe docking and undocking from the ISS.That docking procedure was stop on feeler when five thrusters malfunctioned on reach , but engineers were able to bring four of those thrusters back online , which allowed docking to proceed .
Starliner also get several small helium leakssince launching on June 5 , but NASA and Boeing officials said that these leaks are not a vexation for return . Starliner is not leak out any helium while it ’s docked to the ISS because they are located in a part of the space vehicle that is closed off . The spacecraft also has 10 multiplication the amount of helium it needs to get through undocking and the deorbit burn , Stich said .
The thruster testing is carry to take a couple of week , during which metre NASA spaceflight old hand Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will remain on the station . As of today , they ’ve been onboard the ISS for nearly three week ; the commission was expected to last just a week or so . The landing programme will be find out once the thruster examination is complete , Stich said .
“ We ’re just look at the timeline to execute that test , and then survey the mental testing [ data ] , ” he add . “ That ’s what ’s really the long magnetic pole , I would say , in determining a landing place date . ”
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Starliner is designed for up to 210 - daytime missions , but this first crew demonstration mission was trammel to 45 days due to point of accumulation of the electric battery on the capsule ’s crew faculty . But those stamp battery are being recharge by the space post , so Stich said the office is considering extend the maximum duration of the stay .
“ The risk for the next 45 days is essentially the same as the first 45 days , ” he allege .
While Stich and Mark Nappi , Boeing ’s program manager of the commercial crew broadcast , tell that a root cause of the problems is still not empathize , Starliner is safe to bring astronauts home in case of an emergency . The ISS nearly had one to begin with this week , when a defunct Russian Earth observation satellite break up up on orbit . ( The cause of the severance up is not open . ) NASA officials apprise the crew to shelter in their several spacecraft , a standard precaution . While no debris do close to the ISS , in the event of a collision the astronauts would have used those space vehicle to set down from the station and return to Earth .
